WASHINGTON — Nearly three years into the deepest U.S. housing slump in generations, lenders are modifying only a small number of problem mortgages, and rising foreclosures are restraining the economy’s recovery.

The Obama administration has stepped up pressure on lenders and their mortgage servicers, who act as bill collectors on behalf of investors who own mortgage bonds. The administration on Aug. 4 unveiled the first of what will be monthly “name and shame” exercises, publishing data on the loan-modification efforts of about three dozen companies. McClatchy received calls and e-mails from borrowers across the nation in response to a recent story about the “name and shame” effort. In subsequent interviews with them, a common theme emerged: Virtually all say they were encouraged, directly or indirectly, by their lenders to fall behind on their mortgage payments in order to qualify for loan modifications. Then the modifications never came. These borrowers burned through retirement savings, destroyed their credit ratings and suffered mental and financial hardship. Here are some of their stories:

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A work-from-home psychotherapist and real-estate agent, Helen Rudinsky, 53, bought property in the nation’s capital in June 2004. At the height of the housing boom, she took out an interest-only loan, offered for pricier homes and marketed as virtually risk-free because of climbing home values.

A few years later, she gave birth to a boy who was diagnosed with autism. She’s temporarily moved to Bend, Ore., seeking easier access to expensive testing and therapy for her child. Rudinsky contacted Wells Fargo last October about mortgage options because her payment of $2,500 a month was set to leap by $1,000 this month. She said that a Wells Fargo employee advised her that only loans that fell behind on payments were reviewed for modification. Rudinsky had never missed a payment, had a credit score of 770 — anything higher than 600 is considered good — and put down $130,000 when she bought her home, clear evidence that she was a reliable customer. She took the employee’s response as a suggestion to miss payments, and as a solution to her problem. “I got behind, and then it spiraled out of control,” she said.

Assigned a loan negotiator, Rudinsky called many times a week but got nowhere. She followed a checklist to ensure that all necessary documents were with the lender, but it was never enough, she said.

In May, she was told that she was approved for a program with interest payments potentially as low as 2 percent, she said. More documents, more back and forth, and Rudinsky said she was assured that things were on track and that the foreclosure process was on hold. To her shock, nearly 10 months after her initial call to Wells Fargo for help, her home suddenly headed for auction.

The sale was scheduled for 10:15 a.m. Aug. 4. Rudinsky raided her retirement funds to pay $30,795 in a last-ditch move that saved her home minutes before the auction. Days later, Wells Fargo called again, demanding that she make good on her loan or lose her home, she said.

“I don’t know what to do anymore. I feel like Alice in Wonderland, because whatever you do, it isn’t enough,” Rudinsky said.

Wells Fargo had modified just 6 percent of its eligible loans through June.

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In 2001, sales representative Cynthia Steigner, 51, bought a three-bedroom 1927 home in Riverside, using a conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. When the economy soured late last year, she lost her job and couldn’t pay her bills. She contacted her lender, IndyMac, and was told that she’d get no help until she fell four months behind on payments, she said.

“I needed the help then, not four months later,” Steigner said. Nevertheless, she followed instructions, fell behind and still got no help, she said. Instead, she filed for personal bankruptcy. Once the courts completed her case early this year, her lender sought her out to discuss a modification again.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. had seized IndyMac in July 2008. Its mortgage assets were transferred to OneWest Bank in March. The new lender sent Steigner a loan-modification agreement May 6. It offered a new mortgage payment of $1,093 a month, a reduction of almost $500. Steigner sent two months of payments in a bank-drafted certified check dated May 22. On June 8, it was returned with a letter that said the bank draft had to say “cashier’s check.”

Steigner had the check reissued as an official cashier’s check and sent it back. It was returned to her again June 25 with a letter that said that the loan modification campaign had expired. Soon after, a note was posted on Steigner’s front door that said that her home would go to auction Aug. 13. She hired an attorney late last month and threatened to sue OneWest Bank for breach of contract. After that and queries to the bank from McClatchy Newspapers, her home was pulled off the block Wednesday, though it’s still at risk of being sold.

OneWest Bank doesn’t have its own spokesman. It hired the San Francisco-based public relations firm Sard Verbinnen for that. “She was denied because she did not return a signed modification agreement,” said Diane Henry, the spokeswoman.

“That’s not true,” said George Bosch, legal administrator for Edward Lopez Law Offices in Los Angeles. Bosch provided a copy of the signed letter and the FedEx receipt.

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